An Elegant Woman

A little black dress cut just above the knee, its midnight hue camouflaging the natural swell of healthy breasts.

A pair of black Gucci slides uncluttered by buckles and patterns.

Glossy brunette locks tucked behind an ear on one side, falling across a lightly powdered cheek on the other.

Modest diamond earrings adorning each lobe, a matching pendant resting on the lightly tanned flesh over the breast bone.

Simple. Elegant.

* * *

"I'm Katherine," she announced with confidence. Cabernet sauvignon tilted silently in the glass in her left hand and she extended her right.

"Dan," he responded. Her hand was soft, the skin supple and warm. "A pleasure to meet you."

"You, as well." Her brilliant smile revealed a subtle skepticism. "You seem a little out of place."

He raised an eyebrow and took a sip from the tumbler. "Not my usual haunt. But my mother is rather active in the gallery community. She asked me to join her tonight, since my dad couldn't."

"And who is your mom?" Katherine asked, her head turning slowly, her shiny tresses brushing over an exposed, lightly freckled shoulder.

Dan nodded in his mother's direction.

"Ah. I recognize her from a few recent openings." Katherine turned back to him, her piercing green eyes settling on his.

"So you're a regular at these things?"

"Mm-hm," she mumbled through a sip of her wine. "Michael and I -- Michael's my husband -- he and I fancy ourselves as collectors. We're not, really, but we enjoy the art and the atmosphere of these showings."

She paused and looked around her.

"And there he is now. If you'll excuse me?"

Dan bowed his head and she was off, the wondrous scent of flora after a spring rain left in her wake. He admired the way her bottom swayed beneath the form-fitting dress and the faint musculature of her calves.

* * *

"Fancy seeing you here." Her smile lit up the room, more than the impressionist artwork that hung on the walls of the Kinzie Street gallery, just off Wells.

He turned to see the beautiful woman gliding up to the bar beside him. He feigned having to recollect her name. "Katherine, is it?"

Her eyes were disbelieving of his contrived ignorance, her smile playful. "Yes. Dan, is it?" she rejoined.

"You didn't. I just had a good time last time. I like these events. They're a welcome change from the usual bars and clubs."

"I'm sure." She paused and took a sip from the glass held between her delicate fingers. "Well, it was good to see you again."

"You, too, Katherine."

She turned to move away but cast a glance over her shoulder. "Glad you remembered my name this time, Dan." Her smile was teasing and was reflected in her soft eyes.

* * *

"I'd like you to meet my husband. Dan, this is Michael. Michael, Dan."

The two men shook hands.

"Michael Barnes. Good to meet you." He was tall, graying at the temples. His handshake was firm, strong. His sport coat was cashmere, the shirt beneath it open at the neck.

"You, too, Michael."

Dan pretended to take interest in a large contemporary work that had captured the attention of Michael and Katherine Barnes. His mind drifted as they discussed the artist's other work. They were in their early forties, successful. He was probably a lawyer, or a financial consultant. They likely lived on the North Shore, Wilmette or Winnetka, Dan guessed. She was one of those ladies that lunched, the kids in college now. But for whatever success they had achieved, both seemed down-to-earth, very well-grounded.

"Would you like a re-fill, Dan?" he asked, pulling Dan back to the here-and-now.

"Sure. That'd be great. Scotch and soda. Thanks." He handed Michael the tumbler and was then left alone with Katherine.

"So, do you and Michael come down to the galleries often?"

"As often as we can. Sometimes I come alone. It all depends on his travel schedule."

"Hmm."

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason. Just curious."

* * *

He saw her across the gallery and casually made his way around the room, approaching her from the rear just as she ended a conversation with the gallery's manager.

"Hi there."

She turned slowly, her every movement full of grace. As before, her smile brightened the room. "And hello to you."

"Thought I might see you here tonight."

"Really?" she responded, drawing the word slowly from her slender throat. "And were you looking forward to it?"

Her smile was soft and she smoothed stray strands of shiny dark hair behind an ear. "I seem to be making a habit of embarrassing you."

"Naw. Not at all." He took a sip from his tumbler.

She took one from her goblet and rolled the stem of the now-empty glass in her slender fingers. Her soft, sensuous lips were tinged a deep red from the drink.

"Can I get you another?" he asked, hope evident in his eyes.

"Thank you, but I'm afraid not. I must be going."

Dan mocked a pout, or mocked mocking a pout. "So soon?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Michael's flight lands in a few minutes and I told him I'd be home around the same time as him."

"Too bad for me."

Again, her infectious smile. "Would you be kind enough to walk me to my car?"

"Of course." He couldn't hide the eagerness in his voice.

Outside, they waited while the valet brought her Mercedes around.

"This is becoming a regular thing, Dan."

"Yeah, I guess it is."

"Well, I think it's good. I enjoy your company. Michael does, too."

"And I yours."

She stepped gracefully from the curb as her car approached, and Dan followed her down. He handed a ten dollar bill and a few singles to the valet.

"Dan! You don't have to do that."

"I know, Katherine. Don't worry about it."

"You're far too kind. I hope to see you again soon." She put a foot into the car and turned back toward him, offering her cheek. He kissed her lightly and trembled lightly at the smoothness of her skin, his heart beating rapidly as her slender fingers grazed his jaw.

* * *

They stood beneath the canopy in front of Smith & Wollensky. A light rain fell, rendering the street a reflection of the city's lights.

"Thank you for dinner. I really enjoyed it."

"I did, too, Katherine. Thank you for joining me."

The valet brought her car to a stop at the curb and Dan, holding her soft hand, helped her off the curb and walked her around to the driver's door, paying the valet again.

"You need to stop this, Dan."

"It's the least I can do. Michael's away, I had a free night. Might as well enjoy it, no?"

She smiled up at him as he held the door for her. She looked away, across the river, then turned back toward him. She stood on her toes and kissed him chastely on the cheek, the soft pads of her elegant fingers sliding down his cheek. "Thank you, again."

* * *

The tables outside Tavern-on-Rush were usually hard to come by, particularly on a sweet spring evening when the temperature rose into the seventies. A generous tip to the hostess usually cleared the way, however.

Katherine lifted the napkin from her lap, wiped her sensuous mouth, and folded the napkin atop the table. "I really should be going." Her eyes told him that she didn't want to.

"Well, at least traffic back to Wilmette should be light at this time."

"Oh, I'm not going home just yet. I need to stop by the apartment and leave a check for the maid," she said, rising from the table and smoothing the robin's-egg blue summer dress down her lithe thighs.

Dan followed suit. "The apartment?"

"Mm-hm. Michael and I keep an apartment down here. We don't use it often, but it's nice to have when we want a weekend in the city. Or when Michael has to work late."

He raised an eyebrow and she laughed. "I know, I know. It's somewhat of an extravagance, but we think we've earned it."

Dan guided her inside the restaurant, his hand soft at the small of her back, and then back out to the street. "Well, thank you again, Katherine, for joining me. It's too bad that Michael couldn't join us."

She elbowed him lightly in the ribs as they walked south along Rush Street. "Yeah, I bet, Dan."

He laughed, nervously. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing." She hesitated before continuing. "I just get the feeling that you don't really care if Michael's around or not."

"That's not true at all, Katherine. I like spending time with you guys."

She let it go and they made their way past Jilly's and Prada and crossed Oak Street.

"So, do you plan on walking me all the way to the apartment?" Her voice was playful again, teasing.

"Uh, I don't know. I don't even know where it is. I was just walking with you."

They eased around a crowd of people gathered in front of Le Colonial and continued to walk in comfortable silence, her hips occasionally bumping his as they continued down Rush Street to Erie. A block east on Erie, Katherine came to a stop beneath a portico leading to the lobby of a relatively new high-rise. She turned toward him.

"Thank you again for a wonderful evening, Dan."

"My pleasure." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. She held out her supple hand and he took it, then they moved away from each other, the fingers sliding along each other until they parted.

"Um, would you like to come up for a few minutes? Have a drink, perhaps?"

Dan turned back toward her, finding her anxious. He looked around and thrust his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Uh, sure. That'd be great."

A smile flitted across her features and she turned on her heel and moved through the revolving door. The elevator ride to the forty-third floor was made in silence. When the doors swished open, she led him to the right, to the only door at that end of the hallway. Dan looked behind him, noticing only one door to the left. Katherine keyed open the door and he followed her in before she locked the door behind them.

"So, this is it," she announced, leading the way into a large open space decorated as a living room. A large dining room was to his left, a kitchen and darkened hallway beyond it. To his right, another darkened hallway and, behind him, a sweeping, open staircase leading to a second floor.

"What would you like to drink?"

"Whatever you're having."

She smiled softly, nodded and turned. "Be right back."

Dan moved slowly around the living room in her absence, running his hand over the back of a chocolate brown leather couch. The dark green walls were dotted with paintings and a few sculptures stood on stands. 'We're not really collectors,' he recalled her saying. 'My ass,' he thought.

Large, cathedral-style windows looked out on the skyline and he paused before one, looking down at the ant-like creatures crawling along the sidewalk. Dan had clearly underestimated Michael's vocation; not many legal salaries could afford this.

The clack of her heels along the dark hardwood floors signaled Katherine's return. He turned and took a stemmed glass full of dark red liquid from her.

"Cheers," she whispered, and they clinked their glasses together.

"Your apartment is beautiful," Dan complimented after taking a sip.

"Thank you. We love it. I just wish we spent more time down here, now that the kids are gone." She moved away from him, around the living room, turning on a few lights, casting the room in a dim amber glow. "It's my indulgence, really. Michael finally decided to give into it a few years ago. Gave me what I wanted."

She paused behind the couch, near the foot of the stairs. Her eyes scanned the room before falling on Dan, still standing before one of the windows.

"This is what you always wanted? A place in the city?" he asked, his voice halting.

"Mm-hm. Michael's good about that. Giving me what I want." She took another sip of wine and fiddled with the single pearl that rested just above her carefully concealed cleavage.

"So," Dan began, his stomach twisted in knots. "If Michael is good at giving you what you want, what am I doing here?"

Katherine looked away, down at some imaginary item on the floor at her feet. She looked back at him, sheepish, and set her wine glass on a console table.

"You're not here to give me what I want, Dan," she intoned, her voice barely audible. She reached behind her neck with one hand and the summer dress went slack. "You're here to give me what I need."

Katherine stepped toward the stairwell and the dress whispered down her trim torso to the floor. She put a manicured hand on the stair railing and stepped onto the first step, looking over her shoulder at him.

Dan's sharp intake of breath was audible even across the room. When the soft blue dress puddled at the foot of the stairs, it revealed Katherine's lacy black bra encasing generous, natural appearing breasts. When she took a step up on the stairway, her back side to him, his heart skipped a beat at the sight of the black lace tee-back thong that split the soft, supple cheeks of her butt.

"Are you coming?" she whispered.

He fought the urge to run and instead walked smoothly around the furniture, slowing to place his wine glass on a side table. Katherine was halfway up the stairway when he caught up with her, his large hands coming to rest gently on her swaying hips. A step below her, his strong arms encircled her waist from behind, his hands trembling at the exquisite feeling of her warm, pliant flesh. He nuzzled his lips into her neck, kissing her lightly, and felt her shiver.

Katherine's knees wobbled at his soft, gentle touch. She raised her thin arms above and behind her, encircling his neck, and panted lightly as his lips worked up the side of her slender neck to her ear lobe, hot breath caressing her inner ear. Goose bumps popped along her arms and down her back as Dan's strong hands stroked her taut stomach.

"Touch me," she whispered and Dan's hands floated across the ridges defining her belly, smoothing over the silk of her bra. He squeezed her breasts tenderly through the cool fabric, thrilled at the feel of her nipples tenting the tight weave. He pulled her closer to him, her firm bottom against his stomach, and his fingers found the front clasp of her bra, quickly loosening it and pulling it off her lightly tanned shoulders.

"Yesss," she moaned as her bra fell to the floor at their feet. She arched her back into him and her firm breasts filled his hands and her nipples prodded against his palms and her head fell back on his shoulder, her lips slightly agape.

Dan's teeth found her ear lobe and bit lightly while his fingers strummed across her distended buds.

"I love . . . your touch," she panted, pushing away from him and continuing up the stairs, her firm butt swaying back and forth.

Dan followed, his hands at her pliant hips. At the top step, she stopped again and dropped to her hands and knees. He knelt behind her and planted light kisses up and down her spine while his hands massaged her butt cheeks, gently kneading the yielding flesh. Beneath him, Katherine panted and moaned her approval and he slowly peeled the thong from her now-damp flesh and down her thighs. She lifted her knees in turn and the wispy bit of fabric slid down her calves to the top tread of the stairway. He kissed his way up her back again, his clothed pelvis pressing against her upturned bottom.

"More," she pleaded, her voice nearly a whisper. "Touch me more."

Dan's fingers slid down her back, through the cleavage of her butt and brushed against the outer folds of her neatly trimmed vagina. Her inner thighs were damp and she shuddered when two fingers grazed across her agitated clitoris.

"Ugh," she moaned, her body convulsing slightly at his ministrations.

Dan used a thumb to ease her outer labia apart and felt her feminine juices leak from her. His fingers lubricated, he applied two to her pulsing clitoris and soothingly manipulated the inflamed flesh back and forth, around and around, occasionally dipping a finger into her inner depths.

Katherine's breathing became ragged. Her lithe body jerked under his influence and her elbows buckled; she nestled her pretty face into the crook of her elbow. "Yesssss," came a muffled hiss as Dan spread more of her natural lubricant over her clitoris.

With his free hand, Dan gave her a light spank on the bottom, the print of his hand barely discernible against the backdrop of her creamy flesh.

He rose and followed the beautiful woman down a hallway through double doors into a master suite. She turned as they entered and leaned up to kiss him hard on the mouth. Their soft lips smashed together, smearing her subtle red lipstick, and their warm, wet tongues danced together.

"You taste so good," she muttered into his mouth while her elegant fingers coaxed free the buttons of his shirt before pushing it off his shoulders.

Dan's right hand fell to her hip, pulling her close to him, and his left went to the back of her head, smashing lips against teeth as tongues continued a violent duel. Almost frantically, Katherine's fingers pulled his belt free and pushed his pants down his thighs and she bent to help his feet free. Naked before her now, she turned him around and pushed him atop the plush bed at the center of the room.

Katherine shed her heels and climbed atop the prone young man, straddling his hips. She pushed his arms above his head and lightly kissed along his chest, up his jaw.

"Yes," she murmured. "I called him from the kitchen . . . and he was on his way home . . . from the airport."

Feeling secure now, Dan's hands fell to her perspiring back, sliding down the light musculature to her firm bottom. She dragged her breasts across his chest, shivering when the hair on his chest scratched across her distended nipples. She shifted forward and brushed her firm breasts across his cheek, pulling them away when Dan's lips parted in a quest to draw a nipple into his mouth.

"Tease," he muttered, giving her a light spank.

She kissed him fiercely on the mouth, their tongues wrapping around each other again, and ground her hips hard against him, her molten juices saturating his veiny shaft.

"Yes . . . but I please . . . too," she moaned when the spongy mushroom head of his penis bumped against her clitoris. Her body jerked up and Dan caught one of her turgid nipples between his lips, sucking lightly.

Katherine shuddered again and placed a manicured hand behind his head, pulling his mouth tighter to her breast, her nipple pulsing in his warm mouth. His hands gripped her butt cheeks harder, pulling them apart, and her vaginal fluids coated the length of his shaft. He sucked harder and Katherine trembled above him as the fat head of his penis began to slip between her outer labia.

"Uuuggghhh!!!" she groaned, her eyes screwed shut.

Beneath her, Dan twisted his hips slightly and arched his pelvis until he felt his crown pass into her smoldering vagina. He slowly but persistently thrust up into her, feeling her labia part around his shaft, her vaginal walls stretch to accommodate him.

Katherine grunted from deep in her lungs, her face now buried in his sweaty neck. "This is . . . exactly . . . what I need."

His hands still firmly on her butt cheeks, Dan forced his way deeper into her, pushing down on her pliant hips while at the same time arching his own. A few lunges like this and Katherine's entire body went rigid. Her grip around his neck tightened and he felt her teeth nip at the nape of his neck. A warmth flooded the length of him and washed over his balls, tickling his perineum.